Hospital where seawater poured into the wards

The hospital was a department of the Chailey Heritage Hospital on Chailey Common north of Lewes. In 1894 Grace Kimmings founded the Guild of the Poor Brave Things in London as a social club for disabled children. Money was initially raised by private donations and the guild was soon establishing satellite clubs across the country.

In 1903 the first residential home was established at Chailey to enable disabled children the chance of not only a good education but also to give them skills and training for later life. If the term Guild of Poor Brave Things seems odd to us today, one suggestion for a name for the new school was the Public School of Crippledom!

The Chailey School was very successful and in 1924 the Marine Hospital was opened at Tide Mills. The wooden building was constructed right on the shore with a nurses' home behind. It was established to accommodate 100 children and included a large school room and dormitories, each of which had large french windows which were thrown open at all times of the year so that the beds could be pushed on to long verandas.

The children had a variety of disabilities from blindness to loss of limbs but all were subject to the same strict regime enforced by the matron, Muriel Powell. The hospital must have been freezing to live in during the winter and ex-pupils remember sea water pouring into the wards during winter high seas and hurricane lamps having to be used.

Percy Thompson was a young lad who lived near to the hospital and remembers playing football with some of the disabled. 'They were on crutches, see '“ and if we were not careful they would whip them across the back of our legs,' he recalled with a laugh. 'The matron used to hate us village kids and would never let us within 100 yards of the place.' Percy remembers that the hospital would put on film shows for the children but the 'village kids' were not admitted so they resorted to clinging to the side of the building in all weathers to get a glimpse of the latest film.

The hospital had an ambulance which was kept in a garage built on the site of the old mill building close to where Percy lived. The garage had previously been used as a makeshift dormitory for the workmen who built the hospital.

The spiritual welfare of the children at the hospital was catered for by frequent visits from the Bishop of London. Percy has a photo of the Bishop standing on the porch of the hospital talking to Tide Mills resident Arthur Young. A few years earlier Arthur's mother went to the hospital when the Bishop was visiting the hospital to christen some of the children. The Bishop saw Mrs Young was carrying young Arthur who was then a babe in arms and asked if she wanted him christened too. She was delighted and asked for the child to be named Arthur. When he found that there were no plans for any middle names the bishop asked if he could name the child after himself, so the child was duly christened Arthur Whittingham Ingram Young!

At the rear of the hospital was a nurses' home built on stilts at the back due to the beach sloping towards the mill creek. (Percy remembers one of the builders lodging at his home when it was built). Matron Powell ensured that the nurses were always correctly dressed and were not allowed to wear extra clothes when it was cold or even to leave the nurses' home when they were off duty. The nurses had duties unique to the Marine Hospital which included dipping the children in the water using a large net hammock. As there was no running water in the hospital the nurses also had to empty the toilets at night into the sea.

The hospital was closed prior to the Second World War and soon demolished. The foundations of both the hospital and nurses home are still visible at Tide Mills and there are interpretation boards to give further information. Do take time to visit the site but if you put off your visit due to the rain remember those poor children and nurses who had to brave the elements in all weathers, all for the sake of good health. The matron, Mrs Powell, undoubtedly ran the hospital as a tyrant but she had the best of intentions and many years later appeared on This Is Your Life which paid tribute to her long career.

KEVIN GORDON